1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric junction box to be mounted on an automobile vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electric junction box that protects tabs that project from bus bars in a connector housing that is mounted on an outer surface of a casing, prior to the connector housing being coupled to a mating connector.
2. Description of Background Information
A conventional electric junction box will first be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is an exploded cross-sectional view of a conventional electric junction box.
As shown in FIG. 8, an electronic control unit (ECU) 5 is attached to a junction box 1 to be mounted on an automobile vehicle. When a conductor 6 of the ECU 5 is electrically connected to bus bars 3 contained in a casing 2 of the junction box 1, they are connected in the same manner as between bus bars and a wire harness.
In more detail, female terminals 7 are soldered to the conductor 6 of the ECU 5. The female terminals 7 are disposed in a female connector housing 8 mounted on a base plate of the ECU 5. On the other hand, tabs (i.e., male terminals) 3a bent from the bus bars 3 project into an interior portion of a male connector housing 4 that is provided on an outer surface of the casing 2. When the female connector housing 8 on the ECU 5 is inserted into the male connector housing 4, the tabs 3a are coupled to the female terminals 7, creating an electrical connection.
In the above structure, since the tabs 3a are not held at fixed positions in the interior of the male connector housing 4 before the female connector housing 8 is coupled to the male connector housing 4, the tabs 3a may become deformed or misaligned with respect to the female terminals 7 in the ECU 5, due to unintentional contact during, for example, shipping or assembly.
If the tabs become deformed, even if the male and female connector housings 4 and 8 are interconnected, the ECU 5 is not properly coupled to the junction box 1, since an end of the female connector housing 8 interferes with the deformed tabs 3a. That is, when deformed tabs are coupled to the ECU 5, a faulty connection will result.
Furthermore, if foreign matter becomes adhered to the tabs 3a in the male connector housing 4 prior coupling to the ECU 5, a short circuit may occur in one of the circuits in the ECU's 5 signal systems. This undesired event will result in function faults.
Whether connecting the bus bars to a wire harness in the junction box or connecting the bus bars to the ECU by a connector, the same undesirable consequences will occur with respect to the tabs projecting in the connector housing that is provided on the outer surface of the casing.